A Bucks legend and fan favorite deserves it more than some already enshrined.
Right before the holidays, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame released its 2025 ballot, featuring current head coach Doc Rivers and three former Bucks. You can see the entire ballot here, and while Doc is a first-time nominee, franchise legend and current television analyst Marques Johnson has been on the ballot many times. I’m guessing Doc will be voted in this year (yes, Bucks and Sixers fans, he is 100% a Hall of Fame coach) since he is eighth all-time in wins, just 13 away from Phil Jackson for seventh. If not this year, it’ll happen before long.
We’re not here today to discuss Rivers, though. We’re here to advocate for an injustice to be corrected, one that’s long overdue: Marques Johnson belongs in the Hall of Fame. Even if we’re just evaluating him on his broadcasting, I think he could get in. After returning to Milwaukee and introducing himself to a new generation of Bucks fans as the team’s lead color commentator, Johnson gained legions of fans with his witticisms and cerebral, mellifluous descriptions of the action on the floor. Folks around the league know it too: he has high-profile writer fans like Zach Lowe, and Awful Announcing named the Bucks booth a top-ten unit in their quadrennial NBA Announcer rankings twice.
Johnson would have to keep broadcasting for another decade or two to make it in on those strengths, which are a feather in the cap of a player whose case is already strong enough. Though he was traded to the Clippers for Terry Cummings, Craig Hodges, and Ricky Pierce (all important Bucks in their own rights as well) in 1984, Johnson accumulated enough numbers in his seven years as a Buck to rank among the franchise’s leaders in multiple categories. Even to this day, he remains top 10 in minutes played, field goals, field goal percentage, free throws, points, rebounds, blocks, steals, triple-doubles, box plus-minus, PER, and win shares. His number 8 was deservedly retired by the team in 2019.
That production earned him plenty of recognition in terms of the usual benchmarks for Hall of Fame players. The original MJ (yes, when the MJ everyone knows had a poster of you in his dorm room at UNC, you’re the original MJ) made three All-NBA teams, including a First Team selection in just his second season. He also made five All-Star games while Nelson helped transform him from not only a scorer and rebounder but into one of the NBA’s first point forwards, averaging at least 20.0 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and 3.5 APG (over 4.0 three times) nearly every year in Milwaukee. Those were somewhat unheard-of numbers for small forwards in the late 70s, particularly those who were their team’s primary scoring options. Johnson struggled with substance abuse and personal tragedy in his 20s, checking into rehab at 26. With that in mind, he received the final NBA Comeback Player of the Year award in 1986, his last full season, after returning to his typical scoring averages following his first year as a Clipper.
Had he not suffered a serious neck injury during his third year in LA at age 30, Johnson likely would be in the Hall already with a few more years at that level of play. Lesser-accomplished players like Mo Cheeks, Bill Bradley, and Calvin Murphy are already in. They racked up fewer accolades, some with just a couple thousand more in counting stats, thanks to better longevity. Or they won rings as third fiddles (at best). Then there are names like K.C. Jones and Jamaal Wilkes—guys who had the fortune of being on good teams at the right time and won tons of rings without as much individual glory. Johnson doesn’t belong alongside guys like this?
Furthermore, Johnson’s college accomplishments as a UCLA Bruin are as impressive, if not better, than those of Bradley or Ralph Sampson, the latter of whom is definitely in the Hall based on how dominant he was in the NCAA. While MJ has only one Player of the Year award and All-America selection to Sampson’s three apiece, Johnson has a national championship, John Wooden’s final title in a legendary career. He also had a longer and better NBA career than Sampson. This isn’t to say Sampson shouldn’t be in Springfield—he absolutely should be. This just means there is ample precedence for Johnson.
Yes, some will say that those are not NBA achievements. And to be fair, Johnson is already a member of the College Basketball Hall of Fame. But this is not the NBA Hall of Fame. This is the Basketball Hall of Fame. Its walls are filled with men like Oscar Schmidt and women like Senda Berenson Abbott—people who never touched an NBA court or coached an NBA game because they were that important to the game all over our planet. It’s not always about what you did in the world’s most prestigious league, even if what MJ did on the floor was both outstanding and even verged on revolutionary for those early 80s Bucks squads.
So, will he finally make it this year? Among first-ballot player nominees in 2025, we have surefire first-ballot entrant Carmelo Anthony and two former Defensive Players of the Year: Dwight Howard and Marc Gasol. These three are likely to be in at some point, and all three may enter this year. Let’s take a look at why:
- Though Melo never made an All-NBA First Team and won just three playoff series in his career, topping off with the 2009 Western Conference Finals, he was named to the NBA’s Top 75 for a reason: he’s 12th all-time in points scored. Add in six All-NBA selections (though none were First Team) and a whole bunch of All-Star nods, and there’s little doubt he’ll be in this year.
- Howard is 11th all-time in rebounds and 15th all-time in blocks—numbers that compare favorably with other inductees like Nate Thurmond and Ben Wallace, nearly matching the latter with three DPOYs. He’ll get in at some point, perhaps this year.
- Gasol may one day join his big brother Pau in Springfield, but has fewer accolades than both him and Howard. He does have a late-career ring as a role player in Toronto, though, plus is very accomplished internationally in his native Spain and for their national team with two Olympic silver medals and two FIBA World Cup wins.
But here’s something important: Gasol is part of the international category this year, not the North American group where Johnson and all the other players we’re discussing are found. So MJ doesn’t have to compete with Gasol; that committee enshrines one player per year. The big Spaniard easily has the best resume of this year’s international crop and he won’t need to worry about votes going to other NBA guys.
Unfortunately, a change in eligibility requirements is affecting Johnson’s likelihood in 2025. Last fall, ESPN’s Kevin Pelton seemed to think this would finally be the year MJ got the call:
Johnson has been a finalist three of the past six years and with no likely first-time selections, 2025 seems as if it could be his year. Johnson’s career totals were limited by injury, but he’s a five-time All-Star who was also a legend at UCLA, where he helped John Wooden to his final championship in 1975 and later won national player of the year honors as a senior in 1977.
However, the Hall reduced its waiting period from two to three seasons as of this year, so those three are eligible earlier than expected. Pelton may not have known that when writing, plus he thought Gasol wouldn’t be on the ballot for another few years since he played two more seasons in his native Spain upon leaving the NBA in 2021. Thankfully, Gasol is in a different category.
Other first-timers include Amar’e Stoudemire and Robert Horry. Stat had a fantastic start to his career in Phoenix but tailed off quickly within a year of arriving in New York. But with five All-NBA selections, he may get in sometime soon. Famously, Horry has more NBA championship rings than anyone who wasn’t a part of the Celtics dynasty in the 50s and 60s, though averaged only 7.0 PPG over 16 seasons as a reserve. Big Shot Bob is an important player in NBA history, given the crucial playoff buckets that got him that nickname, but a Hall-of-Famer? I’d be very surprised.
In December, Frank Urbina of HoopsHype deemed Johnson the 14th-best player not in the Hall, beneath Melo, Howard, Stoudemire, several guys who aren’t on this year’s ballot (Shawn Kemp, LaMarcus Aldridge, Blake Griffin, Joe Johnson, Derrick Rose, Jermaine O’Neal, and Latrell Sprewell), plus the other holdovers we’ll discuss below. Those last three I listed make little sense to me based on how well—or better—MJ compares in terms of counting stats or individual awards.
Urbina also uses “not winning much” as a demerit against Johnson, “making the playoffs just six times—and getting to the Conference Finals just once over those six chances.” For a guy who played only nine full seasons, that seems pretty good to me. And as any longtime Bucks fan knows, it was impossible to get past the Celtics and Sixers in the early 80s: those Don Nelson teams could take a series from one of them in some years but never both. Plus, Calvin Murphy also made the playoffs just six times, though he got to the 1981 NBA Finals.
Holdover nominees alongside Johnson with a decent argument for Springfield include Tom Chambers, Penny Hardaway, Maurice Lucas, Bill Laimbeer, Shawn Marion, and Buck Williams. Here’s how they stack up:
- Chambers is one of only four retired players (a group that includes Melo) who scored over 20,000 points but aren’t in the Hall. He was picked for four All-Star teams and two All-NBA Second Teams.
- Hardaway was one of the most visible star players of the mid-90s, teaming with a young Shaq for a 1995 Finals appearance and making First Team All-NBA twice.
- Lucas was the leading scorer on Portland’s 1977 championship squad and one of the most prominent power forwards of the late 70s and early 80s, racking up five All-Star berths and making one All-NBA Second Team.
- Laimbeer was a notorious instigator on the Bad Boy Pistons, one of the most famous teams in NBA history, made four All-Star teams, and was a key part of two title-winners.
- Like Laimbeer, Marion is also in the 10,000 rebounds club alongside many inductees, has a few All-Star berths, two All-NBA teams, and somehow didn’t make any All-Defensive teams despite finishing top ten in DPOY voting four times.
- Williams is 16th all-time in boards; the only player with more who isn’t in Springfield is Howard. What Williams lacked in All-Star (three) and All-NBA (one) appearances, the longtime Net and Blazer made up for somewhat with four All-Defensive selections.
Johnson’s NBA case is as good, but probably better than all of these names, not to mention his NCAA body of work. There also are a number of pro and college coaches who stand a chance, notably first-time nominees Rivers and Mark Few. They are also eligible in the North American category, along with players and even referees, so interestingly, Rivers is competing with Johnson for a spot.
While things got a lot tougher once the eligibility requirements were cut by a year, all is not lost for Johnson. In 2026, presumptive new nominees are questionable: Andre Iguodala, Blake Griffin, John Wall, and Aldridge. Had it not been for the inclusion of Melo and Howard, Johnson’s main competition in 2025 might have been just Stoudemire and the other holdovers. Even if this all doesn’t work out, he could always get in from the veteran’s committee, which requires players to be retired for 35 years. MJ’s final game was in November 1989, so he should be eligible there if he falls off the North America list, though he did play briefly in Italy in 1990.
The good news is that Johnson isn’t currently in danger of falling off the ballot, it seems. Per the Hall:
If a nominee receives zero affirmative votes for three consecutive years, that nominee’s candidacy is suspended for five years after which time he/she may again be reviewed by the appropriate Screening Committee. There is no limitation on the number of years a nominee may be considered for Enshrinement by a Screening Committee provided that the nominee receives at least one affirmative vote in any given three-year period.
MJ was last a finalist in 2022 and probably received at least one yes in the years since. So long as he gets a minimum of one affirmative from the nine-member North American committee, he’ll continue sticking around. Furthermore, if a finalist isn’t elected for five consecutive years, their nomination is suspended for five years. As a finalist from 2018–2022, he just missed out on that cut.
Finalists are revealed tomorrow, and there are only two other names (Anthony and Howard) that merit induction more than Johnson. He needs to be a finalist again this year, and a plaque with his face on it needs to be where it belongs in Springfield, Massachusetts. MJ was a more impactful player both in the NBA and to basketball as a whole than any almost other nominee, including the holdovers. The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame is about what you mean to the game of basketball, and basketball is better because of Marques Johnson.